The University of Sydney’s Climate Change, Place and Mental Health Incubator, led by Dr Marlee Bower, is a cross-discipline program exploring the impacts of climate change and the built environment on people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Its latest research project invites NSW’s residents to share their experiences of how changing weather and housing conditions affect their health and wellbeing.
The research team – and this is where Shelter NSW comes in – is particularly interested in people living in social, community or private rental housing who find that their housing situation makes it difficult to manage their mental health and wellbeing in the context of a changing climate and more extreme weather events.
The research sits within the Incubator’s broader work examining the relations between climate change, the built environment and mental health, including the vulnerabilities and protective factors that shape how people experience these impacts.
Participants will take part in an interview, with an optional follow-up ‘photovoice’ activity, a research method where participants can tell their stories and experiences through taking photographs.
Shelter NSW has a longstanding interest in understanding and improving the quality of all housing, including social housing, as a matter of priority. In 2025, we supported an earlier University of Sydney proposal to evaluate the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI), including its impacts on thermal comfort, energy costs, and health. While that evaluation did not proceed, this new study could help lay the groundwork for future research into the positive impact (and potential unforeseen challenges) of housing retrofits.
This work is particularly relevant as climate change increases the importance of safe and thermally comfortable homes. Time and time again, the AIHW National Social Housing Survey, along with other sources, has identified thermal comfort as one of the least consistently met housing needs. This is particularly concerning when we know that households with disability report lower satisfaction with thermal comfort and energy efficiency, and that older people and people with chronic medical conditions are at greater risk from extreme heat.
In short, poor housing in a changing climate affects us all, but it affects people who are most vulnerable and people with the least control over their housing situation the most.
Shelter NSW encourages members and friends to consider taking part and/or to share and reflect on this research opportunity, and on the need to advocate for healthy homes for renters, for example by reading and sharing our submission on the need for minimum energy efficiency standards.